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OPINION, PAGE A4
LIFE, PAGE B1
TTUESDAY, UESDAY, OOCTOBER CTOBER 44,, 22016 016 > W WESTERN ESTERN KKENTUCKY ENTUCKY UUNIVERSITY NIVERSITY > VVOLUME OLUME 992, 2, IISSUE SSUE 1122
From left to right, Hayley Hoback, Izzy Rager, Morgan Goetz and Rachel Shipp lean on one another at a vigil to memorialize their Alpha Gamma Delta sister, Stephanie Campbell on September 28, 2016 at the AGD sorority house. Campbell passed away on Sept. 25 as a result of a single-car accident on the Western Kentucky Parkway. “She has tattooed on her foot ‘You can breathe,’” remembered Hayley Hoback at the vigil. “And that’s what I can say to her. ‘You can breathe now.’ She’s in a better place now.” Gabriel Scarlett/HERALD
Glowing Rose Friends, loved ones mourn the loss of student BY NICOLE ARES HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU
W
hen friends, loved ones and Alpha Gamma Delta sisters spoke about the life of Stephanie Campbell during her vigil on Sept. 28, they described her as someone who “lived with purpose.” Many said she was “brave,” “eloquent” and “true to herself 100 percent of the time, inspiring others to do the same.” To honor the life of Campbell and to express its grievances, the Theta Iota chapter of AGD hosted a vigil open to the public. During the vigil, hundreds of people gathered on the AGD house lawn to mourn the loss and say their goodbyes. Many were dressed in pink, Campbell’s favorite color.
All of the things people were saying at her vigil were eloquently put. She was truly an incredible woman.” Coordinator of Greek Affairs Alexandria Kennedy “Her favorite color is pink, she loved it,” Izzy Rager, Hendersonville, Tennessee sophomore and roommate of Campbell, said. “Everything she owned was pink, and she would’ve loved all this pink.” Additionally, AGD set up a memorial of photographs in front of the house, gave crowd members a lit candle to hold and filled the sky with pink balloons. Campbell, a 21-year-old Louisville senior, was killed in a car accident on Sept. 25 while driving on the Western Kentucky Parkway. Her cause of death was ruled blunt force trauma to the body, deputy Grayson County Coroner Howard Tomes, said. Campbell was driving westbound on the parkway in a 2001 Nissan Xterra when she started to drift into the median, over-corrected and lost control of the vehicle, according to the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office deputy Jarrod Mudd. It is not confirmed what caused Campbell’s vehicle to drift into the median. During the ceremony, friends and loved ones were invited to speak in front of the crowd, to express their feelings or share a memory of Campbell. A poem entitled “The Glow of the Rose” was recited. The rose, a symbol for the AGD sorority, was used as a metaphor for Campbell’s life that had been “plucked,” but still continued to “glow.” The AGD sisters sang “Sister You’re Never Alone” in unison to show support for Campbell and one another. To show assistance to Campbell’s family after the incident, Rager started a GoFundMe page to initially help with the funeral costs. In its first week, the Campbell Family Support GoFundMe page has raised nearly $3,500. More than 100 people have donated to the cause. “I didn’t expect the GoFundMe page to do this well. It’s
insane,” Rager said. However, the family decided it would rather donate the money to Assumption High School, where Campbell graduated in 2013 as well as the Home of the Innocents, a non-profit shelter and pediatric convalescent center in Louisville. Rager said Campbell worked at the WKU Child Care Centers on campus and had a love for children. “Since she loved kids so much, her parents decided [the Home of the Innocents] would be a good cause to donate to,” Rager explained. Campbell also had large aspirations for after she graduated, according to Rager. She was pursuing a degree in political science, and following her summer 2016 internship in Washington, D.C., she planned on moving back to the the nation’s capital next year. “She always wanted to work on the Hill,” Rager said. “She wanted to move there and she was already looking at jobs she wanted to apply for. Oh gosh, she adored that city.” During the vigil, one of the speakers joked about Campbell’s love for Washington, D.C. and her internship. “We found a journal from her time in D.C. this past summer and it was straight D.C. facts, including things like the population. This is so Stephanie,” Morgan Goetz, Owensboro senior and Campbell’s AGD sister, said. When Campbell moved back from Washington, D.C. she acted as a Gamma Chi during fall 2016 formal sorority recruitment. A Gamma Chi is a recruitment mentor for possible new members. “There were 10 new girls in the new pledge class who said the reason they joined was Stephanie, and the reason they stayed was Stephanie,” Deanne Fuesting, Nashville junior and roommate of Campbell, said. “It’s only been five weeks since school started, and she already made an impact on 10 girls’ lives. That’s just the kind of person Stephanie was,” Fuesting added. During Campbell’s time as a Gamma Chi, Alexandria Kennedy, coordinator of Greek Affairs, was given the opportunity to work with her. “She really was an outstanding young woman,” Kennedy said. “All of the things people were saying at her vigil were eloquently put. She was truly an incredible woman.”
Roommates Deanne Fuesting, Murfreesboro, Tenn. junior, Rachel Shipp, Elizabethtown junior, Stephanie Campbell, Louisville senior and Izzy Rager, Hendersonville, Tenn. sophomore pose during Homecoming 2015 festivities. Photo Submmited By: Izzy Rager
SEE VIGIL PAGE A2
Search committee discusses candidates BY EMMA COLLINS HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU
The Presidential Search Committee discussed several specific candidates for WKU’s next president in a closed session on Friday while the decision of an open and closed search hangs in the air. The applicants were selected by Isaacson, Miller, the search firm hired by WKU to aid in the presidential search. Phillip Bale, chairman of the search committee, said Isaacson, Miller had contacted around 200 people and narrowed that list down to a short list of around 30 candidates. Bale said the applications from those 30 candidates were discussed during the closed session. “Most of the people we looked at we were able to look at not only their CVs but in many cases letters of nomination or letters from the individual themselves,” Bale said. Because it is still early in the search process, Bale said he expects to receive more applications. However, so far he said he is pleased with the high quality and wide range of diversity in the current pool of applicants selected by Isaacson, Miller. While no decision was officially made, Bale said he thought the committee was able to eliminate some of the applicants. Three representative of Isaacson, Miller were also present during the meeting. Before closing the meeting to the public, the representatives gave brief update on the progress of the search. Jeff Kessner, one of the representatives, said the search firm had been in contact with around 200 potential applicants and sources for other applicants. Kessner said the firm had received many positive responses
SEE COMMITTEE PAGE A2